


Seeing Fire

by TheCopperhead



Series: Bᴀɢʜᴇᴇʀᴀ [1]
Category: The Jungle Book (1967), The Jungle Book (2016)
Genre: Adoption, Feral Cats, Gen, Orphaned Child, Wilderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8811568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCopperhead/pseuds/TheCopperhead
Summary: A lot of things can happen in a jungle's darkness; successes, miseries and life-changing surprises.





	

The calm optics of the ferocious and sly guardian of the jungle were hazed by thick mist and darkness, although the weather did not affected the feline's precise vision as much as one would presumably expect. Naturally, it did not stopped the carnivore from gazing right through the white, humid fog, detecting large trees in all their wonderful details, their verdure providing essential cover to all inhabitants of the jungle. They were myriad in number and diversity; countless vines, solid and fragile branches of various species decorating the deep woods. The faint outlines of discrete leaves of all shapes, color shades and species remained unnoticed as they blew gently in the cold breeze, that made most animals search cover during the night. 

The black panther, who had been named Bagheera; he saw and sensed, smelt and hearkened it all, his senses possessing a nonpareil acuity, serving their important purpose as well as always and leading the noir beast through the dark, dangerous thicket of the Indian Jungle. 

His delicate ears flicked as he perceived a roar, rough and violent, resounding through the whole jungle and reaching animals from everywhere. It was a warning, informing them all to hide and to beg for luck to not encounter the source of the bellow; Shere Khan. Bagheera himself went rigid for a moment upon hearing his rival's angered roaring, his velvet noir fur standing on end. Silence took over momentarily, until high-pitched, fearful screams were heard. The panther wasn't exaggerating when thinking that he almost smelt the fright from afar, his sensitive nose scrunching up in displeasure and pure indignation. Perhaps, some animals of the jungle were unfamiliar with this odd, high sound and were writing it off as nothing but the sound of the striped beast’s next victim, but Bagheera knew well that it was something bigger than that. He knew the source of the strange noise, connected it to his confidential, unrevealed past and to a creature, which definitely did not belonged into the jungle.

“He knows it, he _knows_ that it is against the law, that fool. Hunting humans," he scoffed, " — he can’t be all there anymore.“

The noir-coated cat tensed the fine muscles of his strong legs, pushing himself forwards and overcoming his usual reticence when it came to getting involved into other's matters. Soon, he was dashing through the thicket, showcasing his exceptional speed and stealth as his adapted paws carried his lithe body over solid wood and from branch to branch. The silence was gone since long, interrupted and banned from Bagheera's environment through the rustling of foliage around the panther, roars and screams in decreasing distance and a pounding heart inside his chest. It was hammering against his ribs and pumped adrenaline through his veins, just as it did during his very first hunting trips.

A fresh scent filled the feline's nose, apprising him about the proximity of a large ravine that divided the jungle into half, a wild river flowing through it on the bottom. A thought crossed Bagheera's mind; would he have to leave the safety of the trees? Hopefully not. After all, he was not eager into battling with the enraged tiger, who he had chose to chase and disabuse from making a terrible mistake.

Suddenly, just as he was snapping back into reality, the noir carnivore's green-yellow spheres spotted something else than the nearing end of the jungle’s thicket, something that burned and brought light into nightly gloom, adding smoke to faint haze. He saw _fire_ — the red flower, bringer of death and destruction, Aodh or whatever other names this infernal something possessed. Yet, the bold cat did not stopped moving, ceaselessly racing after an ominous trace. 

Why was Bagheera so eager to attend this possible catastrophe? What was driving him towards a situation in which it would be wise to not intervene, anyway? He didn’t knew, but assumed that it was his heart, tender and sorrowful, but also wild and brave. Obviously, it was always the reason for most of his mistakes.

Releasing tension from his legs upon his final arrival and transferring it back into his fine dorsum and strong shoulders as he ducked to hide his dark figure in the cover of the trees’ leaves, vines and branches; a maneuver that worked even better for him during such a foggy night. Bagheera had been right with his assumption, witnessing the vicious fight, which he had hoped to avert and which now took place in front of his flavescent eyes. Two adult humans, a wounded male and a seemingly healthy female, caught his attention on the ground, clad in white, familiar-looking clothes. They stood in a hazardous position, merely a half meter away from the edge of the chasm with their back turned towards it as they faced their menacing opponent, Shere Khan, keeping the growling beast on small distance with a stick, which’s rounded tip was glowing in a orange color, flames flickering around it; a torch.

The image was reflected in Bagheera’s cunning, wide eyes as he stared in awe, being both amazed and shattered by the sight at the same time. He quickly caught himself, though, realizing that the heat alone would not safe the humans' lives. Bagheera moved a paw, pressing it down onto a fragile branch beside him, breaking it with crack. It fell immediately, landing on some ferns beneath the tree. The combined sounds served their purpose, catching the tiger's attention and causing his large head to snap around and into the black cat’s direction. Bagheera's eyes light up as their gazes met, glowing with a hint of mischief. Judging the deep and hateful growl, he did not doubted that his lethal rival was aware of his presence and actions and was already imagining their consequences.

The male human saw and took the chance, swung the large stick with all his strength and hit the troublesome tiger in the face as soon as he returned his main focus back towards his victims. A roar emitted from Shere Khan's jaws, even more bloodcurdling than prior sounds. The flying, orange sparks slowly burned out in the strong breeze of the gorge, revealing to the humans that their opponent was gone. Bagheera's eyes remained on the larger animal's figures observing as him wile fleeing into the bushes.

Ha, now, that was something memorable. Proudness over this victory overcame him, making Bagheera remain on the branch for a little longer to enjoy the sensation of success. A mistake. Clouds of fume, which had shoved themselves in front of the moon and stopped the silvery rays from lightening up the area, faded into nothingness and revealed the xanthin optics and a vague outline of what cowered in the treetops to the frightened pair of humans.

“A — A black panther! Go away!“ 

It was the last thing he heard from the two-legged beings, except of subsequent and quickly fading screams. Bagheera did not had the chance to react, had merely time to tense, flick his tail in surprise and shout out a warning, which came too late and wouldn't have been understood, anyway. The female had taken another step backwards — one step too far. Stone crumbled underneath her heel, she fell and pulled her mate with her in the abyss. By the time Bagheera had swiftly jumped out of the trees and had reached the edge, they were gone and swallowed by the strong, relentless deluge of water.

“Oh dear, how terrible,“ mumbled the panther under his breath, staring down into the pouring river, almost as if he hoped for the humans to emerge again and to be alive. It was over, though, and there was nothing to be done about it.

Turning around in a elegant and yet crestfallen manner, the panther began his departure in a untypically slow pace. His former enthusiasm was obliterated by this tragic event within a few moments, leaving him with the wish to imitate the misanthropic tiger and to flee into the safety of the jungle; the home of creatures like him and a place where humans should never linger. However, it one more came differently than thought as a bright light reached the big cat, together with a silent but demanding sound. Bagheera turned again, jumping back towards the edge of the chasm as if he hoped to spot the lost humans against all the odds. Once again, he was disappointed by the sight.

There was nothing at all to be found in the ravine. That was until he removed his attention from the deep water beneath him and allowed his gaze to follow the river's flow. His tail swished behind him, head tilting to the side in surprise about what he thought to have found in the distance. It was a man-made object, long and broken in half. Another torch, burning weakly, was attached at one end. 

Again, Bagheera did not exactly knew what was driving him as he sidestepped rapidly and sprinted into the shrubbery. He went up a tree in one skillful movement, then made his way down towards his strange trove. It was his heart again, was it? Or was it guilt, because of what just happened, or nothing else but mere curiosity? Or was it hope, that someone was there, tired, but alive? 

Bagheera’s thoughts were interrupted as high whimper reached him, reminding him of the former screams and letting the big cat’s ears flick as he searched the quickest, instead of the safest way downwards to the streambank, making large and precarious leaps from tree to tree until he arrived and halted to look around. Sadly, he realized that there were still no traces of the two fallen humans, causing his heart to tighten in his chest.

All of a sudden, the whimper could be heard again, causing Bagheera's lowered head to snap up rapidly. It surely weren't the humans, but what else could produce such a sound, except of a wounded young perhaps? Sneaking along an broken, but still solid branch that gave Bagheera easy entry and exit onto wooden boat, the brave feline performed a last jump. His weight caused the laths beneath him to screech premonitorily and a little, green frog, who had been seated at the edge of a little basket, croaked almost demonstratively before leaping away and into the shallow water with a splash. It caught the panther’s attention, but since he knew that it had not been the source of the fascinating noise he quickly focused onto what the tiny, verdant animal had been sitting on. The ebony cat ducked his head cautiously and leaned forwards, stretching his neck in a attempt of getting a short glimpse of what was so well-hidden inside the plaited basket, covered with smooth and warm fabrics, which his whiskers brushed so ever so gently. 

There it was, whining loudly and straightaway into the sensitive, black-coated creature’s visage; a _man cub_. 

Immediately, the vigilant carnivore withdrew in utter shock, close to following his prime instinct and escape from this situation. He should have left, uneager of getting involved into another disaster like the last one, but then the complaining of the child rang in his ears again. Instinctively, the carnivore halted and reversed slowly, risking another glance into the wattled basket with a tilted head. The child was so small, helpless and all alone, yet it was smiling so sweetly and the big, dark eyes widened with awe as they met Bagheera’s, who found himself caught by them all of a sudden, unable to move as a tiny hand reached out, touching the silky fur of his muzzle. A bright laugh emitted from the little, harmless thing and, almost in return, the panther’s throat escaped a low, gentle purr. 

Bagheera, soon to be widely known as the jungle's reliable guardian, threw himself away in that night by giving his heart into the tiny human's hands. And though he claimed and feigned regret over the ensuing years when being coerced into breaking the sacred rules of the jungle various times, he was certain that he'd do it over and over again for his man cub; for Mowgli.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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